


Guardian Of The Forest

by Maryaye16



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Blood and Violence, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Dragon!Levi, Eren Is a Tease, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Human Sacrifice, Levi Is In Denial, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Magical Realism, Mating Rituals, Maybe - Freeform, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Rituals, Self-Sacrifice, Slow Romance, Soulmates, ill add more later, non-binary Hange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-23 16:57:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10723455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maryaye16/pseuds/Maryaye16
Summary: There was a small village that resided next to a dark forest.  The Villagers are terrified of the monsters that lurk there and to keep those monsters from attacking, then they start sending sacrifices.Durning his 18th summer solstice, Erens name is drawn and he gets sent to the monsters.But, not all monsters are bad.//this is terrible i'm so sorry





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know the numbers don't all work out but i'm too lazy to fix it at the moment. 
> 
> I'm sorry

The little 5 year old had wondered away from the village. Again. 

It always gave his parents a heart attack when they turned back around and saw he was gone. 

He had had it drilled into his head to stay away from the forest at all costs. No matter what, do not go into the darkness of the forest unless you had a death wish. 

But he was young, and that all went over his head.

He was giggling a little as he snuck past his mother and went through the huge wall gate and out beyond the wall. 

The monsters had scared the village into making a huge wall to keep them away, but people were still scared of them. People were only allowed out to get resources, like sticks that fell from the 100 meter tall trees that made up the forest. 

He looked up at the huge trees that made up the forest, wanting nothing more than to climb to the top so he could see the world. 

He looked around as he got closer to the edge of the forest when be heard rustling. 

But it didn't scare him. It made him more curious. 

He walked toward the noise, and he giggled and clapped when he saw an abnormally tall human (he thought that at least. Everyone was tall to him.)

The other person just looked down at him and then licked his lips, grabbing one of Erens legs and picking him up to hang him upside down, poking at his stomach and making Eren laugh even more. 

The other person then lowered his hand to his side and turned to walk deeper into the woods for a while. After a while Eren got bored with the game and began trying to lift himself to climb on his new friend with little luck. His wiggling was interrupted when the small child felt something wrap around him and pull him back. 

To him, this was all a game, a new and more fun game than before. So he clapped and giggled more as he was lifted high into the air and out of the mans reach. He was lowered suddenly when a shadow swooped over him to try grabbing him. The thing holding him let out a roar which must have scared everyone away. He pouted a bit as the games were interrupted and because the monster scared them away. 

He was then moved to sit on it's back and then the thing under him began to move. It reminded him of the time he rode a horse for the first time, but it was different.

His view of his surroundings was cut off when two large, things blocked his view. So he had no choice but to look ahead, which was boring.

There were only trees, (unnaturally large and thick trees, mind you.) and a path that the thing, what had Erens mom said it was? 

Monsters! The path the monster was walking along. Had the other person really bring him that far?

Despite how creepy the woods were, the monster under him was warm and Eren had run around a lot that day, so he yawned and leaned forward a little to take a nap.

When he woke up next he was being placed carefully on a horse by a pale man who had onyx black hair. It was a bit hazy since he was sleepy but he held on before the horse was sent into the village with Eren on his back. 

After that incident, his mother never let him out of her sight, which annoyed Eren because he wanted to go play with his new friends again, and no matter how many times he told them that, they didn't listen to him. 

As he grew up, the incident became nothing but a distant memory in his head, and he began to learn how to survive. 

Even though he forgot what had happened, he felt a pull to the woods that he couldn't explain. He ignored it as best he could, but it was hard and got him in trouble more than once. It was like that for the next 13 years of Erens life, getting in trouble because of the forest. 

The only person who never yelled at him for his curiosity or pull to the woods was the oldest member in the village, his great grandma. 

No one knew how or why she lived as long as she did, but she spent most of her time in her house anyway as she was too weak to move too much. She never told anyone her real age, but those in the village said she was 110 years old. They also said she had gone mad because when anyone talked to her she would talk about a time when the forest was light and lively, when the townsfolk played with those who lived in the forest. They were friends, the forestfolk gave them wood and herbs and fruit, and in turn the townsfolk taught them how to make butter and weapons beyond bows and arrows.

According to her, it is the healers job to keep the forest from going dark, but the illness that swept through the village killed 1/4 of the villages people, including my grandpa, her son.  My grandma, who was pregnant with my father at that time had survived the illness, but childbirth and grief took her in the end.  At that point the people took priority over the forest, and by the time it was cured the forest had gone dark, and no one was willing to go back in to fix it.

Then the attacks started. 

It started with someone every other month, then it went to every month and so on.  That's when the wall was built.  But then the wall was attacked and thus the sacrifice began. 

Every solstice 4 villagers would get sent to the woods to keep the monsters from attacking, and it worked.  The attacks ceased.

It was usually people aged 17-20 who were sent.  The year Eren was still 16 he had to watch as some of his best friends Jean & Marco were pushed out of the gate.  He seemed to have been the only one making a scene about them going.

When he was 17, he had to watch more people he grew up with walk to their doom.  This time it was Mikasa, his sister, and Armin, his best friend, going.  He had to be held back when they left, he was losing all of his friends in front of his eyes.  When he lost them he just existed.  He did what he had to then went to bed.  That was his life at that point.

And at his 18th summer solstice, the 100th one to be exact, it was announced that The healers son, and the chiefs youngest daughter would be sent, a greater sacrifice for the 'special' occasion.  The other 2 names were drawn from the bowl, but Eren couldn't care to find out who they were.  He had lost a bunch of people he cared about already, and while he didn't want to leave his parents behind, he knew it was pointless to fight it.

And he had an older brother, currently out to find a wife, who would become the village healer, so thats why they were sending Eren.  

Instead of being out enjoying the festivities he found himself at his great grandmas.  They weren't talking, rather sitting in the quiet. 

"I have to give you something." Grandma suddenly said, pulling a chain from her neck and taking it off, handing it to Eren. 

"A key and vial?" He asked, looking at the two things on the cord, looking back to his grandma and raising an eyebrow. 

"Remember those stories I told you when you were growing up? About the forest?" 

"Sort of.. why?" He asked, placing the items on his palm to get a better look, then fastening it on his neck before turning to his grandma. 

"well yeah, how it used to be good and lively?" 

"Yes.  I need you to do me a favor when you're in there.  Go to the guardian of the forest and tell him 'Petra sent me to cure the Tree of Life.' And he will guide you the rest of the way." 

Erens brows furrowed a little and he gave his grandma a confused look.  "How am I supposed to find him?" He asked, deciding to humor her for a moment. 

She just gave him a smile, leaning forward and placing a hand over Erens heart. 

"He will find you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very meh about this chapter but it sort of explains stuff and gets the plot set up. 
> 
> I may revise it later bc i'm not super happy with it. Same with the first so yeah.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!!

After the talk with his grandma, Eren was confused. 

All his grandma had said was to protect the key and vial no matter what, and then the horn was blown, telling everyone it was time for the sacrifices.

Eren walked out, not sure how he was going to do what his grandma asked of him, or if it was nonsense like the rest of the village thought.

Erens father was with Erens brother, teaching him while he was helping a nearby village.  His mother had died when Eren was young, so he had no one to say goodbye to him.

He walked to the gate where the priest was already waiting to bless everyone.  Personally, he wasn't religious but he stayed silent as the priest did the blessing.

Then the gate was lifted and Eren felt a point at his back.  When the sacrifices had started fighting back, they would then surround the small groups with spears to keep them from running.

The boy just rolled his eyes and walked on, heading to the forest.

He had been drawn to this forest for so long now and he was able to follow that pull.  But he still hesitated, something like a distant memory flashing to him, but he didn't know what it was so he ignored it.

He just walked in and turned to see that the wall guards had started shooting arrows at the two who had their names drawn, who had been at the gate, begging for their lives.  He saw them finally run as arrows were shot at them though.

He had his own thing to do, he couldn't worry about everyone else.  But he noticed all four had gone different ways and hadn't stayed together.

He sighed and turned to face the path.  He took a moment to take in the forest, but only saw those oddly huge and wide trees, some random bushes herd and there and a few animals here and there.  It was eerily quiet and that made it creepy.  He took a deep breath, which he immediately regretted doing when a very foul stench hit his nose accompanied by screaming and loud footsteps in the direction of the other three.

He didn't get a chance to move before he was hit over the head and effectively knocked out.

 

\----

 

When he woke up next he was tied to a tree, and the first thing he saw was the village boy hanging from something similar to a branch with his throat cut and a bucket underneath. 

Eren had to look away so he wouldn't get sick all over himself. 

Avoiding looking to his left, he tried to get an idea of where he was, but he felt his head throbbing which made it a little harder for him to focus but he made himself do it.  He may have went to the forest without much of a fight, but he'd be damned if he died at the hands of a monster he didn't even know the name of.

He saw a group of giant humanoid creatures with no reproductive organs (he wasn't specifically looking for them) sitting in a circle around a fire, and from what he saw they were eating, and he had a feeling he knew what they were eating. 

Was this what had happened to everyone sent out here?  Eaten by whatever the hell it was these things were?  Is this what happened to Armin, Jean, Marco and Mikasa?  That thought made him nauseated.

He shook his head a little.  He had to focus if he were to survive this.

He continued to look around and saw that they were in a sort of camp set up.  There were multiple fires set up  all over, and from what he could tell they communicated with grunts and small roars.

As he was looking around a shadow suddenly loomed over him and his heartbeat sped up when it reached down to grab him from where he was. 

He was expecting to be grabbed, but he blinked and then the shadow was gone.

When he opened his eyes he saw an absolutely massive, and he means massive, reptilian thing grabbing the humanoids and ripping them apart with it's jaws alone. 

There wasn't too much of a fight. 

After a loud roar was released from it, it turned and looked at Eren, and he gulped.  It was hard for him to see much, but he could see two figures on the reptiles back. 

He felt more than heard a thump, signaling something was just dropped.

As he watched, two figures slid down something and then other to him, cutting his binds and one of them just lifted the boy bridal style before running back to the reptile. 

Wait, was he going to be fed to this reptile? He thought this was a rescue mission!  And even so, he was a fly compared to the beast, he wouldn't satisfy him.

He was able to breath again when he saw he was being brought past the things mouth and toward the back.

The first figure, which he was partly able to see in the dark, had hair in a high ponytail and pointy ears.  Under the moonlight he also noticed that the skin seemed to glow, and it looked almost white.

He was handed up to the one that climbed on the reptiles back before the one holding him and it walked on the back, getting a rumble from the creature at the action.

The figure laid him on his front in a certain place on the things back and positioned him into an odd position.  He figured he should remain limp and let them think he was knocked out until he could figure out what was happening.

A moment later, the beast began to move, and Eren instinctively grabbed at the reptile, but he didn't have anything to hold.

He felt a sensation similar to when he jumped off the one waterfall a couple years ago, his stomach moving to his throat.

After a little while, he lifted his head a little and saw wings. 

What the fuck kind of dream was he having?  Because how could any of this be real.  It couldn't be.

First, almost being eaten by giant humanoid things and then gets rescued by a dragon?  Maybe it wasn't that weird, considering he grew up being told about the monsters. 

He didn't get to think it over too much longer because the dragon landed and folded it's wings to it's body tightly, walking into a narrow cave thing before walking into a giant cavern thing that he could only compare to as a secret paradise. 

Everyone got off the dragons back and Eren slowly went to sit up, but when he tried an pain stabbed his heart.

Before he could move more he got a powder blown into his face, getting knocked out for the second time that night. 

This time when he woke up it was to sunlight shining in his eyes.

"Morning, did you sleep well?" An energetic voice said. Walking over to him and he went ro rub his eyes, looking around.  "What.. where am I?" He asked. 

"A place that very few know about.  I know you must have a ton of questions, but there is something that has to happen first. 

This is going to seem... unreal? To you but you are a dragon rider, and Levi here, he's your dragon.  You guys met 13 years ago and thats when your bond budded.  Now, you both have to go complete that bond or you'll both be miserable.  All you have to do is trust Levi,  and Levi will have to trust you as well.  Which is hard for the grump to do but he can't fight fate.  The way you do that is up to you guys, but once that bond is completed,  we'll answer your questions.  By that key around your neck theres a reason you're out here.   Anyway.  We'll see you soon.  Now go." The one with a ponytail said pointing up to a huge hole in the roof of the cavern. 

Levi looked back at me before standing from his laying position and walking over to the hole, jumping up and to the top, then he started to flap his massive wings and they were airborne.

Eren sat up and shifted his seat a little, surprised to find a natural foot hold in the scales of Levis back, and it was oddly positioned perfectly for him.

"Uh, I'm not sure how to fl-" he got cut off when Levi suddenly began flying forward, almost unseating Eren.

Eren balanced himself again and took a moment to look around, then, testing a guess, he pressed his right foot against Levi, and he moved to the left but didn't turn.

At the moment they were above the clouds, and Eren guessed that maybe Levi went this high so they could practice flying together. 

He looked around but didn't see anything, so he tried a new tactic. 

He applied a little pressure with his left foot and leaned as well, but nothing came of that.

"Little help pleass?" He called, and Levi turned to look at Eren before he shook his head a little causing a ripple affect in his scales, and then Eren saw where his hands went. 

He slipped his hands under the scales and they felt comfortable there.  Eren also swore that he could feel Levi moving, felt his heartbeat and everything under his hands.

He then lightly pressed into Levi's skin with his left hand and foot, and Levi turned right. 

Eren couldn't help but smile as he continued to try different maneuvers and after a while they were moving as one.  It only took the smallest of touches to guide Levi. 

Almost as if he could read Levi, he stood up and leaned forward, and Levi took the nose dive down, and Eren waited for the last moment before sitting down again, making the dragon stop from crashing.

Eren smiled and looked around, just then realizing that he had no idea how to get back.  He wasn't ready to go back right then though.  They still had to figure out a few things.

Eren lifted his hands and gently pressed on the underside of the scales covering his small uncovered area of skin, and Levi lifted them up. 

"Hey, Levi.  Want a challenge?" He asked, and he let out a rumble similar to the one be made when that.. he didn't know the species but his dragons friend, walked on him.

Eren looked around and then spotted a canyon to their right, so he turned Levi that way,  shifting his seat a little before he leaned forward, and that was all Levi needed before taking off to the canyon.  

They managed the twists and turns perfectly, and now is when there were random obstacles were in the way. 

Eren stood and pressed his front to Levi's scales, and the dragon went under the things, and when he pressed the underside of his scale he went higher.

Eventually Eren made them make a loop in the sky and he couldn't stop himself from smiling and yelling in joy at the thrill of flying. 

"Alright.  Lets head back, I don't know the way." He said and he removed his hands from Levi's bare skin, which he covered right away and they were back at the mini paradise place soon, and once Levi settled and made a 'slide' with his wing Eren got off. 

"It looks like you two had a bunch of fun.  Buf anyway, I promised you answered.  And uh, I don't know if we have any food you're familar with but I got the closest thing to an apple for you." 

"Thank you for that."  He said, taking the apple looking thing. 

"So, answers?" They said after a moment when Eren sat next down and leaned against Levi, who had also laid down.

Eren looked at the fruit and took a bite, finding it was surprisingly sweet.

"What is this place?"

"Its called Eldiam. It's where all magic and mythical creatures come from."

"What were the things that almost ate me?"

"They're called titans. They are mindless and basically only soldiers to the lady." 

"The lady?"

"She's the 'queen' of dark beings, you could say."

"Wait, you said we were in Eldiam.. what about Stohess?" 

"We brought you to the gate that lays between the forest and Eldiam. The good beings ran here when the dark beings took the forest, but the forest is like an extension of Eldiam, in a way. The tree of life is in your world, so thats why Eldiams stay in the forest. Think of it as good vs evil if it helps."

"What are you and your friend with the eyebrows?" That got a snort from Levi as he laid his head a little closer to Eren, seemingly interested in the conversation now.

"Well, theres a race called the elves, who are tall and live long lives, we can talk more about that later. Erwin and I are a race based on the elves, but instead of thriving on life we thrive on darkness and death.. we were created to rival the elves."

"My great grandma always talked about how the forest used to be light and not dark. What is that about?" He asked.

"She was right. It was like that a long time ago. If the tree of life isn't looked after then it will get sick and the dark magic will take it and the forest over." They answered. 

Eren looked down and pulled out the key and vial. 

"My grandma's name was Petra, and she sort of sent me with these things but she didn't explain much. She just told me to find the guardian of the forest and that he'll guide me the rest of the way." He said, looking up and seeing that Levi was looking at the elf. 

-Petra sent you?- 

A voice asked in his head, scaring the hell out if Eren and making him jump and look around. 

"Calm down. It was just Levi. Only you can hear him." They said. "Also, I never introduced myself. My name is Hanji said, smiling at Eren. 

He looked between the two before hesitantly sitting down again. "I'm Eren... and yeah, she did. Are you the guardian?" He then asked, looking at Hanji.

"Me? No, that would be Levi. Not just anyone can be the guardian of the forest. It has to be someone with a balance of light and dark. Levi happens to fit that bill, but the forest has been dark for so long that it's getting hard for Levi to keep that balance. Thats where you come in." 

"Me? How?" 

"You're Levi's rider. It's your job to make sure he doesn't become completely bad. Usually, the guardian isn't a dragon but things got hectic when the healer stopped coming. Levi happened to have hatched near the tree and he was chosen as the next guardian. You said Petras your grandma? That would make you the next healer. You guys have to heal the tree. But, it won't be easy by any definition of the word. You will have forces working against you to keep you from the tree, and it's no where near here. It's in the center, and we're the northern most part." 

Eren took a deep breath and looked at Levi, who just looked back.

Eren didn't know how to respond to any of this. He wasn't a warrior. He didn't know how to help the sick. He tried to learn but he could never get it right. He wasn't anything special. 

"I'm honored that you guys want me to help, but I can't. I don't know how to fight or-"

"You're the only one who can do it." A deep voice said behind them, and they all turned to see the other elf there. 

"But-"

"Eren. You are the only one who can do it. The Ral bloodline has been taking care of the tree for as long as anyone can remember. You are the youngest one with her blood in your veins, so you are the only one who can do it." He said, walking over and sitting next to Hanji. 

"I don't even know how." He said. 

"The vial she gave you. Think of it like this. The tree has to be fed every year. But it hasn't been fed for a very long time. You carry the trees food, and it'll only eat if you're the one feeding it." He said, and Eren looked down at the vial, sighing a little. 

"What does it eat?" He asked, taking the vial from the necklace and looked at it. 

It was a silver vial about the size of Erens palm, and the top was tightly screwed on it. 

"Souls."

Erens head snapped up at that. 

"Its the tree of life, it needs life to thrive. Well, it doesn't exactly consume the soul, but rather the sacrifice that soul is making. Its really hard to explain it properly, but after the tree is fed it puts the souls back into a form, reincarnating them in a way." He explained. 

Eren sighed and looked back at the vial. 

"Well. Not like I have anything else to do." 

"Thats the attitude!" Hanji said, smiling and standing up. 

"Lets start getting you both ready ready for the trip. Thankfully, I have saddlebags and little pouches." They said, running to the other side of the cavern, and Eren took a moment to look around and really look at the area. 

It looked like a cave, there was an exit on the right, which was dark and then a huge hole in the roof and there was some sunlight shining through which lit the area up. 

In the center there was a pond thing and the whole floor was covered in grass.

It was calm and serene in a way.

Hanji came back and threw the saddlebag over Levi's neck, getting an annoyed grunt before she gave him a smaller bag that went over his shoulder. 

He put the vial in it and placed it on his shoulder, sighing a little. 

"I put everything you may need in those bags. You're all set and it's before noon, you should get started."

-they have a point. We should get a headstart- 

Eren jumped again before walking over and carefully stepping on his leg to get to on him. 

"Here goes nothing." He muttered as Levi walked out into the forest, taking to the air and heading south, toward the center of the forest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some inspiration from Game of Thrones for the dragonrider story. 
> 
> Also feel like this is a little short but whatevs

It was nightfall before Levi found a spot for them to sleep.

Eren was building a little fire in the area for himself and was struggling to get one going while Levi went to hunt.

He and Levi had ended up talking and getting to know each other more as they flew. 

Eren had learned that Levi was 150 years old now, and he learned that dragons grew quickly their first 100 years, as the dragon said, up to a meter a year before slowing down to a few inches every 10 years or so.  Often though, the most growth happened in the first century of a dragons life.  Which was hard for Eren to comprehend as Levi was 70 meters long and 80 meters tall, and could supposedly swallow a cow whole.  In other words, he was a massive beast.  He had hatched at the tree of life where an elder elf had helped to feed him until he was able to care for himself.  As far as he knew, he was the only dragon in the world right now. 

Eren looked up when he heard the unmistakable wing flaps of something huge, and he knew it was Levi. 

Levi landed next to him and dropped a deer to the ground, looking over at Eren and snorting. 

-you still haven't started a fire?-

"In the village there was always flint.  I never had to use only sticks." He huffed, walking toward the dead animal and grabbing a knife from Hanji's bags, heading to the dead stag. 

He felt an intense heat suddenly and he turned to see that Levi had gotten the fire started.  

-you go get more firewood, brat.  I'll take care of the stag.- 

"What do you mean you'll take care of it? You know how to skin a stag?" He asked, turning to the dragon and raising an eyebrow.

-I hate the taste of deer guts so yes, I learned how to do it.- was all he said before pushing Eren towards the woods and started getting their food ready.

Eren had brought back more sticks and placed them next to the fire. He looked over at Levi and saw he had already separated the meat and the innards, throwing the innards into the forest for other things to consume. 

However, instead of placing it over the fire, he used his own flame and cooked it all, looking over to Eren. 

-grab what you want and i'll have the rest- the dragon said, and Eren managed to break off two ribs, and watched as Levi wolfed down the rest of the meat, licking his teeth afterward.

It was quiet for a little before Eren wiped his mouth and turned to his dragon, breaking the Silence. 

"What do you know about dragon riding?" He asked, picking at the rib he was eating. 

-well, theres a history that talks about it.- he answered 

"Can I hear it?" He asked, turning to the other, who sighed and lifted his head. 

 

\- I might get some things wrong. I haven't thought about this story since I was a hatchling. 

There was a settlement settled in a valley by a volcano that was inactive. There were dragons nearby and the men who lived there learned to master and ride the dragons. There was one family, the royal family of the settlement, renamed to be the house of Draciorn, had a special power over them that no one else did. 

That power was something that only they had. The telltale sign of their lineage are gold eyes, which is the color if every dragons eyes. That power came with a price. Everything in the world comes with a price. The price was bloodlust. They craved to kill and spill blood. 

After about 3 generations of the taming of dragons, the volcano erupted unexpectedly and wiped the whole place out. But the prince at the time and his sister-wives lived with their dragons. The Draciorns kept their bloodline as pure as they could and only married within the family. 

Anyway, with their dragons they retreated and lived in the mountains for a time. The prince wanted power, he had bloodlust. So he took over the capital of the land they retreated to, Gantos. They became the ruling family and ruled 6 centuries before the monarchy was overthrown and replaced with democracy.

Well, they stuck around before they disappeared with no real reason. But people believe that only those with Draciorn blood in their veins are able to ride dragons. Though, its hard to test that as no one knows what happened to them and there aren't many dragons around after the volcano.-

By the time he was done Eren had finished one rib and was too full for the other, so he offered it to Levi who ended up taking it. 

"Do you believe the story?" Eren asked

-not exactly. I believe it is some form of magic that not everyone can control, but I never thought about it much.- Levi said as he moved to get comfortable on the ground. 

Eren sighed and looked around before taking the saddlebags and laying his head on them, laying close to the fire. He heard an annoyed huff before he felt himself get lifted and placed between Levi's front legs and before he could protest the dragons head covered his body. 

"Wha- Levi!" 

-shut up and sleep, brat. It's easier to keep you safe.- 

Eren just huffed and turned to his side, shutting his eyes. Levi was really warm so it wasn't hard to fall asleep.

\----

This was bad. 

Really fucking bad.

Levi and Eren had been flying over the trees when suddenly an arrow came from no where and hit one of Levi's wings, somehow making a huge hole in it and made Levi fall. 

Eren had been an idiot and wasn't holding on and instead was laying back on the dragons back watching the clouds. 

Which brought him to where he was now. He fell off of Levi and landed hard on the ground. 

And he got separated from his dragon. 

You would think it wouldn't be hard to find a damn big dragon, but that wasn't the case at the moment. 

He had been walking for who knows how long, calling to Levi with no response. His throat was raw from shouting and his legs were sore, and there was an ache in his heart he couldn't explain.

What made it worse was the fact that the sun was setting and it was dangerous to be out in the dark, as far as he was told anyway. 

He thankfully had the bag with the vial on him and it was safe. Just dragonless. 

He slumped against a random tree and sighed, curling up to be as small as he could in that moment.

The ache in his chest got more intense, and he started feeling a sensation similar to ropes rubbing on his skin. At that, he shot his head up, Levi was in danger. 

He couldn't tell you how he knew that. But he did, and he quickly stood, looking around himself. 

He took a deep breath, he wouldn't manage anything if he was panicked. 

He closed his eyes and bent down to the ground, placing a hand on the rotten undergrowth that made up the forest floor. 

His body was acting on his own as his mind fought to figure out how he knew what to do. Almost like it was an instinct. 

He focused all his energy to his palm, looking for something. 

Just then his eyes snapped up, and he was on autopilot after that. 

He didn't understand any of this. 

He just knew that Levi needed him.

He took off southeast, running at a pace he didn't know a human could accomplish. 

He finally saw his dragon in a little clearing. 

From what he could tell his snout had been bound shut, and there was rope all over him, pinning him to the ground. That didn't mean he was still. 

The black dragon wiggled and pushed against the ropes holding him down, and Eren noticed he was surrounded by humanoids of different shapes, sizes, and colors and all dressed differently. 

Eren had fought the need to rush to Levis side and hid behind some bushes. He needed a plan and running in heads first would be pointless and counterproductive. 

Levi eventually caught his eye, and Eren held a hand to his lips, telling Levi to not give him away. Once they made eye contact Levi relaxed and stopped struggling so much. 

Eren moved closer and managed to catch a part of a conversation, and guessing by how round one of them were, he knew it was a person of high class.

"— just think of what his highness will give us for him. The last dragon, i'll be rich!" The round one said, looking awfully pleased with himself. 

Like hell they would give his dragon to a spoiled prince who would most likely abuse him. 

A red being in brown rags approached the merchant and bowed his head. 

"We're ready to leave, sir." 

"Thank you, lets move. I'd rather not be here when night falls." The servant nodded and walked off. 

Eren took a deep breath and placed both his hands on the dirt, and he looked to Levi, who had closed his eyes. 

Erens eyes shut as well, and call him crazy, but he heard thumping, two sets of it out of sync. As energy flowed, the thumping synced and Eren just knew that his heart and Levis now beat as one.

With what remained of his energy, he gave it to his dragon and after a moment he fell back, suddenly very tired. But he fought it and turned from his place behind some boxes in time to see Levi's Eye snap open, but instead of a normal color they glowed red. 

He then pushed himself up, breaking the ropes binding him, including his mouth where he let out the loudest roar Eren has ever heard.

The sudden movement scared the crap out of everyone around him, and in the moment everyone was stunned, he ran out from behind the boxes and towards Levi. 

The dragon had already started running and flapping his wings, and when the brown haired boy was close enough he jumped up and grabbed onto Levis wing when it was lowered. He rolled onto it and slid to his dragons back when the wing when up again, and then he was sitting where he was supposed to be, placing his hands under the scales and pressing the underside. 

Then they were airborne and flew away from the clearing. 

They weren't able to fly long, and Levi managed to find a relatively safe place for them to rest. 

Levi's landing was anything but graceful, and he collapsed from exhaustion.

Eren wasn't any better though. 

He fell forward on Levis back panting heavily.

"What ... the ... fuck ... just ... happened? " the brown haired man managed to say between breaths.

-hell if I fucking know- he said back, still breathing heavily.

Eventually Eren sat up and got off of Levi.

"Did they remove the arrow?" He asked, eyes scanning the beast and not seeing anything.

-no.- was all he got before Levi started shuffling and showed Eren his chest, and the arrow was very close to his heart. 

But it looked like it was deep. There was no way to remove it by simply pulling it. 

"You're going to hate this but its deep, and i'll have to cut it out but we don't have any medical supplies."

-fucking amazing-

"I saw a lake nearby. It's not the most sanitary but it's better then nothing." 

With a huff, the dragon stood on shaky legs and followed Eren to the lake before laying in the shallow area. 

A thing he was grateful for was Hanji insisting on Levi placing the travel bags in his mouth to avoid getting robbed. And they had done that because the area they were going through was known to be a bandit spot. 

Eren went to Levi's mouth, and he opened his mouth, rolling his tongue out. Eren grabbed the bag and went to where the arrow was, grabbing the hunting knife and putting the bag on Levis stomach for now. He bent down and rinsed the knife and his arms as best as he could.

Then, taking a deep breath, he brought the knife to where the arrow was and made two incisions out from it. He then reached a hand in and eventually found the arrow head, and he began pulling it out. 

His whole arm was in the cut, and it overall wasn't a pleasant thing for either of them.

He did get the arrow out though, and he chucked it away. 

He then began to rip up his shirt and did his best at covering the wound, which wasn't good in the first place. 

He had to use some of the sand to keep the bandages on. 

The then moved back into the clearing and settled in for the night. They would probably stay longer than just the night though. 

It took a day and a half for Levi to heal. Levi said they heal faster than other beings, so it worked out. 

They were back on their way after, this time being more cautious about their surroundings. 

But of course, things are never easy, are they?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if I like this chapter, not going to lie

The winds had gotten strong, and it was hard for Levi to fly through, although he refused to stop and pushed on. 

When flying debris barely hit them, Eren made Levi find a place to stop for the night. 

The only safe place to be right now would be a cave, and the only caves nearby were East, and they were headed north. 

Eventually, they found a cave big enough far east, and they went in and settled, ready to not leave for a while. 

Eren had curled into Levi's side for warmth, as he was only in summer clothes and it was winter temperature at the moment. 

Levi in turn curled up as best he could around Eren, keeping him warm. 

"Hey Levi?" 

-Yeah?-

"Do you ever think about fate or destiny?" 

-what do you mean?-

"Like, do you ever think about if you have a purpose?" 

-right now the only purpose i'm concerned with is keeping you from freezing to death-

"I'm serious."

He heaved a sigh and moved his eyes to look at Erens form, which was currently as close as possible to Levi's side. 

-sometimes I do. I thought it was to protect this forest, but ever since you saved me i'm rethinking that.-

"What do you mean?"

-that moment was... i don't know how to describe it. But when our heartbeats synced, I felt a sudden burst of energy before you ran out and onto my back. And ever since, i've felt closer to you, more protective. More possessive. So i'm thinking maybe I was meant to do more than guard a cursed forest. -

It was silent for a moment before Eren spoke. 

"When I was separated from you my heart ached. I looked for hours, and when I finally stopped to rest I felt something to ropes rubbing on my skin, and I just knew you needed me. I crouched and placed my hand in the dirt, and after a moment I knew where you were. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I was on autopilot. After I overheard the captor talking about selling you to someone else, this raw rage flew through me and I placed both hands on the ground and focused. Thats when you broke free. There has to be more to that than just plain dragon riding magic or whatever it's called."

Levi stayed quiet and didn't say anything.  Eren rolled over to better look at Levi and bit his lip a little, thinking. 

So far this whole journey had been tiring.  He had been warned that it wouldn't be easy, but he couldn't help but feel like he was meant to do something else.  

His whole life he had felt like something was missing.  It wasn't as strong as it used to be but he still felt it. 

He sighed and sat up, moving closer to Levi's head to start petting his snout.  However his fatigue caught up to him and he fell asleep on Levi's snout. 

\----

He was running. 

He didn't know from what, but he knew he couldn't stop. 

His legs ached and his heart pounded in his chest. 

He just barely managed to stop himself from falling over the edge of the cliff, and he turned to see a tall man, he had silver hair that stopped at his shoulders and his eyes were a light lilac, but they glowed. 

"Why do you run?" A smooth baritone voice asked, watching Eren carefully.

"Who are you?! What do you want from me?" He yelled, never letting his eyes fall from the other man. 

"You wouldn't recognize me.  I'm your great great great great grandfather, but please, just call me Rylen." He said, leaning back against a tree.  Now that he looked he saw he was wearing clothes Eren didn't recognize.

"What do you want from me?" Eren asked as his breathing finally slowed down. 

"To help guide you to where you're supposed to be.  You've lived a secluded life.  There is so much more to the world then what you've seen."

"Wha-" 

"The world can be beautiful and amazing.  But it can also be dark and deadly.  You were meant to do more than watch the tree of life and care for it." 

"My grandma.. she said only I can watch over the tree..." he said, hating how he was starting to hesitate. 

"She didn't tell you the full truth." He said, looking down at his hands and back up to Eren. 

"What is the truth then?" He asked, noticing how the man stared into him, seeing right into his eyes and his soul. 

"You must find that for yourself.  You do have to save the Tree Of Life, but not because it's hungry.  This is only your first task of many to come." 

"Why does everything have to be up to me?! I never fucking wanted this! I never wanted to lose my friends,  I never asked for a dragon, I didn't ask for any of it!! I just want to live a normal life.  Im not a damn warrior, healer, leader, whatever!  I'm not shit!  I'm a nobody and I don't understand how everyone thinks i'm somehow special..." he snapped, tired and more confused about everything than he ever has been in his life. 

The man just kept his lilac eyes focused of Eren for a moment, staying quiet at the outburst. 

"You aren't wrong.  You were raised as a nobody.  Meant to just play your role and be done with it.  Things are confusing.  They'll only get more so as you keep on your journey.  What you fail to see though, is just how powerful you can be.  You are more important then you realize.  And not just for one forest.  You can choose to leave and live a quiet and calm life.  Or you can chose to fight.  You can choose to face the obstacles ahead of you and fight for something that has no reward.  It's all up to you in the end." He explained. 

Eren was quiet before talking again. 

"You never told me why you're here." 

"Ah! I almost forgot." He said, snapping his fingers and turning to Eren head on.

"I came to your dream to warn you.  I guess I kind of did that already.." he said, trailing off. 

"Warn me about what?" He asked, watching the man who claimed to be his ancestor carefully. 

"You have to be careful.  You're awakening a power in you that draws a lot of attention.  You can't trust anyone.  And watch when you use your power and try to stay hidden, it'll be chaos if your true bloodline is revealed."

"Power? Attention from who? What about my bloodline?" Eren shot, 

"I'm afraid I must go.  Remember my words Eren.  You are the last hope." He spoke, turning and retreating to the trees. 

"Wait! Don't go! I don't under-" 

He was interrupted when he suddenly woke up and shot straight out of his laying position, scaring Levi with the sudden movement. 

-brat? Whats wrong?- 

Eren looked around himself, calming down when he saw they were still in the cave. 

"It was just a dream." He muttered, sitting back down and trying to steady himself.  He's never had such a realistic dream before, and the things Rylen said stuck with Eren.

But he couldn't help feeling paranoid at his words though, about being careful. 

-what happened?-

"Don't worry, i'm fine.  Just.. my dream was weird.  Thats all." He said, standing up again and walking over to the bags, grabbing some clean clothes and starting to change. 

He felt a stare on him, feeling a foreign ache settle in his chest which confused him as he bent down and grabbed his clean shirt,  feeling a bit of arousal hit him.  

Of all the times he could get a random boner. 

He ignored it and continued to dress, stretching out once he was.

He then placed his dirty outfit into the bag to wash later.  He had only few clothes with him, and some were heavier in case they ended up too far north. 

When he finally turned around he saw Levi staring at him with something he couldn't identify, but the gaze made him freeze where he was.  

The random boner he had gotten got harder, and he realized that it wasn't because of him.  He wasn't turned on by anything. 

This was weird.  He felt weird and he didn't know what to do. 

He cleared his throat and made to go outside for a minute to compose himself, but Levi blocked his path. 

"Levi?" Eren said quietly.

Before he could react the dragon moved him closer and started nudging at Erens clothes, he was curious as to what had brought this on, Levi was acting weird.

Then the dragons claw came up and ripped the clothes Eren had, making him yelp in surprise and go to cover himself.

"Levi, this isn't funny, stop." He said, trying to shove the head away when it came close again. But instead of complying, Levi started licking him. Eren's mind became fuzzy with a little more arousal, this time his own. He couldn't deny it and he didn't try to, he was enjoying the spontaneous yet intimate bath. 

He was still covering himself when Levi made his way lower, deeming that his top half was clean enough. 

He continued to lick and groom him, and Eren just let him. How was he supposed to fight off a massive dragon? Plus he was enjoying it, maybe.

Levi deemed him clean enough and stopped grooming him, and Eren swore he saw a content smile on his dragons face after. 

 

Eren slowly stood and went to grab new clothes as Levi had ripped the ones he had on previously. As he was getting dressed he realized he didn't feel sticky or anything.  It was as if he bathed in a lake.

What the fuck was he supposed to do now? 

He filled his water canteens up and slowly stood, walking out of the cave.

The fresh air that hit him helped him clear his head and relax a lot more. 

"We should get going Levi.  Before it's too late." He awkwardly said, and the dragon made his way out as well.

The windstorm had come and gone and it was a clear and sunny day. 

-Eren, i—

"I'd rather not. It was a little awkward but it can't be undone now. Lets just go." 

He felt a pang of something hit his chest and he had to use all his willpower not to cringe or grab his chest. 

He silently climbed onto Levis back and no more time was wasted as he shot into the air. 

They flew in silence, and Eren hated how tense the silence was between them. 

He sighed and leaned forward, hesitantly wrapping his arms on Levi's neck, well.  As best as he could but he hoped Levi still got the message. 

"I'm sorry I snapped... you just caught me off guard..." Eren tried, and looked up towards Levis head, seeing he didn't make any notion to say he heard Eren. 

 

The boy sighed and sat back up, looking around, and not knowing what to do to fix this.

"I don't want you to be mad at me and I don't want us like this.  Please..." he begged. 

After he said that Levi's flying faltered and Eren snapped up, looking around. 

"What is it? Are you tired?" He asked, still looking at the ground to see if anything might have hit his dragon. 

Levi was still silent and his flying wavered again before they began falling to the forest floor. 

Eren grabbed onto Levi, keeping them from getting separated. 

"LEVI!!" Eren shouted, his worry spiking. 

The crash was hard.  They skid a little before stopping.  While Levi had been tumbling he fell off his back and lay on the ground for a moment before he forced himself up and he ran to Levi's side.  The dragon was breathing heavily and his eyes remained unfocused. 

He went to pet him a little, not knowing what he was supposed to do.  Or even what happened. 

Before he realized it he had tears falling from his eyes.  He couldn't lose Levi, not like this. 

When he touched him he immediately pulled away.  The dragon was burning like the sun in the sky, and Eren had no idea what to do to help, and he hated the feeling of helplessness.

But then, Levi's form began to convulse and twitch, and there was a slight glow as he started shrinking.  When he was at a certain size Eren saw his features start to change. 

He gasped as he saw him take on a more human form, but he still had the tail at the base of his spine. 

He stopped glowing and Eren stood frozen as he looked at small pale man occupying the spot his dragon had previously resided in.

He saw the mans onyx hair was styled in an undercut, and as he looked he saw black scales covering his arms and fading into his chest before starting back up at his waist to his legs. The only parts that didn't have scales were his face and chest, as well as his abs (he had a 6 pack..)

The one feature that was hard to ignore, however was the tail coming from the base of the mans spine. It was reptilian in nature, and had a line of small ridges along the top.

As he looked at him, he saw a dart and cautiously grabbed it, pulling it out of the tail and looking at it. It resembled a tranquilizer dart but it was different, smaller and easier to hid.

He tossed it aside for the moment, he had other issues to address. 

The man groaned and started fluttering his eyes open, slowly sitting up and looking around but stopped when he saw Eren.

He slowly sat up, squinting a little as if he expected Eren to say something. 

"Uh... hi?" He tried, biting his lip. 

It was silent again. 

"I can't do much unless you speak to me." He finally said. 

Thats when he looked down at himself before jumping up with surprise. 

"Who are you? Where'd my dragon go?" Eren said, trying to get an answer. 

"I-i a-m." He stopped and cleared his throat, trying to grasp something. 

His voice was very rough and raspy, almost as if he hadn't used his voice in a very long time.

"I am Levi, brat." He finally said, watching Eren carefully. 

"You- what?" Eren was struggling to grasp what was happening.

"I can shift." His voice was still rough, and Eren gave him a canteen, which he hesitantly took and drained.

"Thanks." He said, his voice visibly less raspy now. 

"Now, care to explain?" 

Levi took a big breath and looked back at Eren. 

"I can change my form from human to dragon."

Eren stared a moment, trying to grasp what he had learned.

"When were you going to tell me?" He asked, staring into Levi's steel grey eyes. 

"I don't know. I didn't change willingly just now." He muttered, looking around a little. 

Eren sighed and ran a hand through his messy brown hair. 

"I found a dart in your tail. Someone is probably tailing us."

"Great." Levi muttered, picking up the saddle bags that fell from his back and then looked back at Eren. 

"Whatever shit the put in my system will keep me from shifting. We have to walk." Was all he said. 

Thats when Eren took notice of just how naked Levi was. 

"I, uh, yeah. Ok." Was all Eren said, starting to walk down the path. 

It was silent for a long while before Eren spoke up. 

"Why did you do it?" 

He knew Levi knew what he was asking. He looked lost in thought for a moment before he sighed and stopped, turning to Eren. 

"I couldn't help but want to touch my mate after he changed in front of me." 

Eren had stopped and turned to Levi, his eyes widening a little when what he said sunk in.

"Wait what? Mate? Ho-"

"You were right. What happened was more than just our bond as dragon and rider. We're soulmates, or a destined pair. However you want to put it. I knew since the first time I saw you as a youngling." 

Eren stared for a moment, trying to comprehend what he was saying. 

"We've met before?"

"You were 5 and had somehow gotten to the forest. A titan tried taking you to eat but I stopped him and brought you home."

Eren thought for a moment, he knew he hadn't imagined that! He was told a lot that he had imagined it and eventually he just believed them. 

He then realized that what he said earlier he probably took as rejection, yet he bit that back. He wanted more answers first. 

"Whats a destined pair?" 

"two beings who were paired by the love goddess herself. It doesn't happen so much now as it used to, but it can be between any two things. Like a dragon and a human." 

Eren didn't know what to ask next, but Levi kept going without being prompted. 

"When they meet, their souls will automatically be drawn to each other. From there it builds, the more they're around each other the deeper the bond gets. We can feel what the other feels, we can sense the general direction they are if they get separated, they can lend each other strength, like you did. You gave me some of your strength and thats how I got out. But they have to consummate the bond as soon as possible."

"What happens if they don't?" 

A flash of hurt hit Levis eyes but it was gone before Eren could ask. 

"One of the pair will eventually die in their grief of the rejection. It's usually the one pining for the other the most." 

"Oh." Was all Eren could say. He didn't know how to respond. Sure, Levi was a pretty attractive man and a beautiful dragon, but Eren has never really wanted anyone before. Thinking about it now, he's never seen anyone in an intimate way, male or female.

He always assumed he would get paired with a woman when he was 20, provide children to become healers after him and just live. 

He knew that the one question had probably made Levi think he was being rejected, and he didn't want Levi to believe he was unwanted, but Eren has never been in this situation before.

"I'm not rejecting you—"

Eren was interrupted when something large and heavy hit him behind his head, making him fall forward to the ground as black danced at the edge of his vision.

He barely registered his name being called and the last thing he saw were big brutes grabbing a struggling Levi before it all went black.


End file.
